Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck), who is currently leading the mountains and young rider classifications, missed out on a chance to move into the yellow jersey after being involved in a mass crash inside 6km to go on stage 5 at the Tour de France Femmes in Amnéville.
After winning the previous day's stage into Liège, Pieterse started the day in second place overall, 22 seconds behind Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime), who was also involved in the crash, but Pieterse was quickly back on her bike, unable to close the gap to the small lead group that split off the front and sprinted for the day's victory.
Pieterse appeared to have abrasions on her chin, right elbow and knee but finished the stage in the second group that finished 28 seconds behind the day's winner Blank Vas (SD Worx-Protime).
Latest Videos From
She has now dropped to third place but is still 22 seconds back on new yellow jersey Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM).
The team stated that Pieterse sustained a few "bumps and bruises" but was otherwise healthy and will start on stage 6 in Remiremont on Friday.
"Stage 5 from Bastogne to Amnéville at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift was marred by a massive crash with many riders hitting the deck. Despite the setback, Puck Pieterse stayed strong and kept both the white jersey and the polka dot jersey," Fenix-Deceuninck said following the stage.
For Fenix-Deceuninck, Pieterse's victory on stage 4 marked their second at the Tour de France Femmes after Yara Kastelijn won the stage into Rodez last year. The two victories and Pieterse's success in leading multiple special classifications this week cement their place at the top of women's cycling.
Kastelijn told Cyclingnews ahead of the race that the team did not have a goal to race for the overall classification but rather was going for stage wins and other opportunities in the special classifications.
Initially, she aimed for the mountains jersey but is pleased that Pieterse currently holds both the polka dot jersey and the white young rider jersey.
"It is still a goal for me, but it's really cool that Puck has it now. We are a team, and it doesn't matter who has it as long as it is with our team," Kastelijn said.
Pieterse said she was looking forward to climbing Alpe d'Huez on Sunday, the final stage of the Tour de France Femmes. She knows the climbing, having ridden up on August 3 and finished with a time of 52:20, the third fastest time on Strava behind Illi Gardner and Emma Pooley.
"I'm looking forward to that stage," she said after her stage win on Wednesday. "If I had good legs here, then who knows?"
Get unlimited access to all of our coverage of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes - including breaking news and analysis reported by our journalists on the ground from every stage as it happens and more. Find out more.
